Cronstedt studied mathematics at Uppsala, where he came under the influence of J.G. Wallerius and S. Rinman and became interested in mining and mineralogy. He served in the Swedish army from 1741 to '43, but afterwards, he became a mining expert by visiting the various mines and smelters throughout Sweden. In 1747, He was appointed assistant to D. Tilas, before becoming in 1748, director of the East and West Bergslagen mining district. Cronstedt discovered the element Nickel while analyzing the mineral "kupfernickel" [niccolite] in 1751. He is also among the first researchers to use the blow-pipe in mineral analyses, generating better results than anyone up to that time. Berzelius said of him, "Cronstedt, the founder of the chemical system of mineralogy, a man who by his acuteness in that science rose so far above his age that he was never correctly understood by it." During his life he accumulated a large mineral collection of 3,000 items which was inherited by his son. The collection and its manuscript catalog were purchased by a wealthy Danish landowner and collector who moved it to Paris where it was lost. Cronstedt was elected in 1754 a member of the Kungliga Vetenskaps Akademiens, Stockholm (Academy of Sciences, Stockholm), and the mineral "Cronstedtite" was named in his honor by J. Steinmann in 1821.

Scarce. Published anonymously. This is one of the most important and influential works in mineralogy. By precise chemical analysis, Cronstedt first realized that every mineral is created from a specific set of chemical constituents; he further realized that the chemical uniqueness of minerals formed an ideal concept on which a system mineralogy could be built. Pursuing this insight with all his great skill and perseverance, he applied every test at his disposal to determine a mineral's chemical composition more accurately than had any other previous investigator. In fact, Cronstedt was so successful using the blowpipe in making his determinations that he can rightly be called the founder of systematic blowpipe analysis. Using the results of his various tests, Cronstedt arranged minerals according to their contained chemical elements, thus creating the first mineralogical system to rely almost exclusively on chemical determinations. This new method had very wide appeal among mineralogists, and many subsequent systems would copy Cronstedt's lead. Another innovation was to distinguish, for the first time, between true minerals of homogeneous chemical composition and rocks, which are a mixture of several minerals; the later, together with fossils, the author separately classified in an appendix.

Very scarce. A partial translation of the 1758 Swedish edition. Believing that Cronstedt's work represented the best chemical classification available, the noted mineralogist, Abraham Gottlob Werner translated the section dealing with earths and stones; however, Werner so expanded the work by incorporating his own theories on the external characteristics of minerals that this translation rapidly became accepted throughout Europe as the best reference and textbook of contemporary mineralogical science.

English editions

Essay towards a System, 1770

9. English, 1770 [Translation, First edition].
An | Essay | towards a | System | of | Mineralogy: | By | Axel Frederick Cronstedt. | Translated from the Original Swedish, with Notes, | By Gustav von Engstrom. | To which is added, a | Treatise on the Pocket-Laboratory, | containing | An Easy Method, used by the Author, for | Trying Mineral Bodies, | written by the translator. | The Whole Revised and Corrected, with some Additional Notes, By Emanuel Mendes da Costa. | [double rule] | London: | Printed for Edward and Charles Dilly, in the Poultry. | M DCC LXX.

10. English, 1772 [Translation, 2nd edition].
An | Essay | towards a | System | of | Mineralogy: | By | Axel Frederick Cronstedt. | Translated from the Original Swedish, with Notes, | By Gustav von Engström. | To which is added, a | Treatise on the Pocket-Laboratory, | containing | An Easy Method, used by the Author, for | Trying Mineral Bodies, | written by the translator. | The Whole Revised and Corrected, with some Additional Notes, By Emanuel Mendes da Costa. | [rule] | The Second Edition; | with | An Appendix, containing Additions | and Notes, | By Prof. M.T. Brunnich. | [double rule] | London: | Printed for Edward and Charles Dilly, in the Poultry. | MDCCLXXII.

11. English, 1788 [Translation, 3rd edition].
An Essay | Towards A | System of Mineralogy. | By Axel Frederic Cronstedt, | Mine-Master Or Superintendant Of Mines In Sweden. | Translated From The Original Swedish, | With Annotations, And An Additional Treatise On | The Blow-Pipe. | By Gustav Von Engestrom, | Counsellor Of The College Of Mines In Sweden. | The Second Edition, | Greatly Enlarged And Improved, By The Addition | Of The Modern Discoveries; And By A New | Arrangement Of The Articles, | By John Hyacinth de Magellan, | [...5 lines of titles and memberships...] | [tapered rule] | In Two Volumes. | [tapered rule] | Vol. I. [-II.] | [tapered rule] | London, | Printed for Charles Dilly, in the Poultry. | M DCC LXXXVIII.

Very scarce. Translated by Gustav von Engeström, with considerable additions and editing by Joao Jacinto de Magelhaens. The book begins with a section on the formation of minerals followed by chapters describing the general divisions of minerals and fossils, the different kinds of earths, salts, inflammables, and metals. An appendix is present, containing an account of composed stones and petrifications; a treatise on the use of the blowpipe; a description of the three pocket laboratories; a method for analyzing earths; a description of an instrument to determine specific gravity; and a new method for making general weights.

Jean Hyacinth de Magellan [Portuguese: João Jacinto de Magalhães]. (Born: Aveiro, Portugal, 1723; Died: London, England, 1790) Portuguese naturalist & author. Magellan entered the Catholic College of the Sapiência in Coimbra, where he studied for 11 years. During his classical education he became proficient in Latin, Greek, Spanish, French, German and English as well as the studies of mathematics, chemistry and physics. After graduation, he entered into a religious life. However, his scientific interests caused him to abandon the monastery in 1754 and make a "philosophical trip." He witnessed the devastating Lisbon earthquake of 1 November 1755, before leaving for France in 1756. From there he traveled extensively in throughout Europe meeting the leading scientists of the time. He arrived in London in 1763, and remained. His chief contribution to science were his mathematical, scientific and geodetic instruments, which are of the highest caliber. He supplied these instruments to the governments of Portugal, Spain, France and Russia. Magellan was a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and elected on Benjamin Franklin's recommendation to the Philadelphia Academy of Science.

Very scarce. Translated from an original manuscript by Johann Gottlieb Georgi [see note below] and published at the expense of Johann Christian Daniel Schreber. The volume describes the mineral wealth of a region in Sweden known as Dalecarils. Contained in this work are extensive discussions of the geological structure of the earth. The folding plate shows various mineral veins.

Johann Gottlieb Georgi. (Born: Gut Wachholzhagen, Pommern, Germany, 31 December 1729; Died: St. Peterburg, Russia, 27 October 1802) German apothecary. Georgi established an apothecary in Stendal, but moved his establishment in 1770 to St. Petersburg. Using this as a home base he made many explorations in the Russian territory. In 1783, he was elected a member of the Academy of Science in St. Petersburg.